


Promise?

by JameWii



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Dw it sounds worse than it is, Happy Ending, M/M, Reds just being dramatic, Referenced Kidnapping, Some Cursing, angst at first, reguri week, very slight and tame sex references
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:14:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26584225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JameWii/pseuds/JameWii
Summary: When Red wakes up, realizing the apartment he shares with his boyfriend is empty, he learns the hard way that he's been committed to the wrong promise for too long. And that maybe, it's time to make a new one.Promt: Proposal
Relationships: Ookido Green | Blue Oak/Red
Comments: 3
Kudos: 58





	Promise?

**Author's Note:**

> Soooo I know the marriage thing was Monday. I was ready to post it that day, but then I accidentally clicked the wrong buttons on my keyboard and the story was just completely gone and I had to rewrite it. It really sucked and I wanted to just give this work up, but I couldn't find peace if I didn't finish this because I've had this scenario in my mind for a long time now. It's a bit silly, so don't take it too seriously :P 
> 
> Warnings are in the tags, but just to be sure: there are some very slight sex references, but only like two. Also some cursing, and at one point, Red recalls how Green was kidnapped by Team Rocket once (in my universe he was, because why not), so there's that too, but it's not a focus here. The focus is rather the two idiots being absolutely terrible with communication and being dramatic assholes. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy :D

When Red woke up, it was with back and neck pains and a bad taste in his mouth. Whether it was morning or afternoon, he had no idea because the sun was already shining so brightly.

Usually Green woke him up. Sometimes by giving him a sweet kiss on the cheek, sometimes by cursing in the kitchen after something heavy fell on his toes while he was rummaging about.

Red stretched carefully, his entire body aching. Ever since he moved into Green's tiny apartment above the Viridian Gym, they shared his single bed because unfortunately, the room was too small for a queen sized one. It had been nice at the beginning, being forced to be pressed close to your love, and it had lead to many late night shenanigans and giggles and love drunk confessions during the beginning stages of their relationship. But as routine set in and Green started to take up as much space as he possibly could for so thin a guy, it became quite bothersome, not that he wanted to complain.

Of course with him being Kanto's Champion and Green being Kanto's most successful Gym Leader, it was fair to say they were millionaires, but Green hadn't quite been able to say goodbye to this place yet.

He took a look at his watch, frowning when he saw it was already 12:10 AM. Green usually woke him by no later than nine. Especially today because they had agreed to go out for dinner around twelve. They'd talked about it a lot; Green had actually been very excited for it, babbling about it all day yesterday, telling Red he better not dare forget. He carefully tried to listen for sounds in the apartment, his inner alarm bells going off when he couldn't hear any. This was another thing Red had gotten used to so much that he had hardly noticed it until it was gone; living with Green meant always hearing sounds.

Sometimes it was the clinking of dishes while he washed them, sometimes the muffled sound of his feet on the carpet floor, sometimes his soft humming when he thought no one could hear him.These sounds were so common, and yet Green made them so special. The clinking of the dishes sounded careful and deliberate, like he was trying to be as gentle as possible with them. The footsteps were elegant and rhythmic, yet loud and shuffling, like he was trying to imitate an Evee and doing a poor job of it. And the humming, Red loved the most.

Mainly because he knew Green was a terrible singer, his voice cracking and breaking like he was still a teenager. He'd never sing for an audience, so his humming was always truly and genuinely something he did for himself, and himself only.

None of these sounds were present currently, and the silence did something to Red's heart that could be comparable to the moment he stood in front of the Team Rocket Boss. Silence wasn't new to this place, of course, but whenever it was there, something bad had caused it.

Other couples would probably call it possessive, overprotective, to immediately start freaking out just because one of them wasn't there for the moment. But Red and Green had quite the history with each other, and it had left them traumaized.

His gut tightened like there was a vice around it suddenly. It told him something wasn't right, and it usually wasn't wrong.  
  
Pictures came up in his head; Green, thousands of miles away, starting a new life without him. Green, kidnapped by Team Rocket again. Green, being held hostage for ransom. Green, dead in a ditch somewhere.

His stomach sank, similar to the feel he got the first time he sat on Charizard's back and raised into the sky, only without the euphoria this time. He swung his feet out of his bed, not even bothering to change his pyjamas for proper clothes, and rushed into the living room. He half expected to see Green on the couch with a cup of coffee in his hands, scrolling through his phone, and was all the more concerned when he found that the couch was empty. He steered towards the kitchen, which was also void of his love, but full of dirty dishes.

Green, he knew, hated dirty dishes. He never left the house dirty. There was an obsession inside him to be clean, always clean, to get rid of every bit of dirt in the room. Red looked around the apartment for a note, then looked at his damned phone that his mom insisted on giving him at Christmas last year, but there was nothing, which served to get him to the absolute verge of freaking out.

They never left the house without telling the other where they went. Not after all the times one of them had just randomly went to a distant destination for days, months, one time years, leaving the other to yearn and worry and cry, just because they'd been bad with communication. But they had come a long way since then, promising each other to not go anywhere, not even the supermarket, without saying goodbye so no one had to panic. They'd been eighteen when they did all the running away and catching up. They were twenty-six now. Green wouldn't, would he?

Red took a deep breath, trying to soothe himself.

_He just went shopping and forgot to tell you. Or he's at his grandpa's house._

But each time he finally felt himself get calmer, the dark thoughts came back, trying to disprove all his theories, and the panic came back, worse than before. He tried to call Green one time, two times, three times, four times, eventually ten times, and no one picked up.

An hour later, he still wasn't back, and Red found himself pacing back and forth like a Persian in a cage. Every sound outside reminded him of someone putting a key in a lock, of steps on the creaking stairs, and he deflated every time he realized it wasn't Green.

He found himself dial a number, and before he could really think about what to say, he already heard the chipper voice: "Hey, Red! Nice to hear from you, is everything all right?"

Cheerful, happy. Red's heart rate and breathing became slower. If anything had happened, she wouldn't sound cheerful and happy.

"Hello, Daisy!" He was aware of how urgent and strained his voice sounded, like he was trying to fight his panic down. "Do you know where Green is?"

She didn't answer. The sudden silence almost made Red check if there was an Ekans around his ribcage, suddenly feeling trapped inside his own lungs again. SIlence wasn't good. He'd heard enough of it today already.

"Daisy...?"

"He...he's not home?"

Red shook his head like an idiot, only to realize she couldn't see him through the phone, and quickly said "No."

Silence again. Red wanted to throw his phone against the wall. Then she said: "He was here this morning."

Red perked up, not sure if he should freak out or be relieved. "What did he say? What was he like?"

"Why are you worried, did anything happen between you two?"

"No, it's just...it's so silent and the dirty are dish...I mean, the dishes are dirty, and no one woke me up, and..." Red knew he sounded like an idiot. That's why he didn't really like to talk. But thankfully Daisy was patient and understanding, and thankfully she knew what he meant, she always did.

She hesitated, then she said: "I wouldn't worry too much. He...he had a fight with gramps today. I don't know what it was about..."

For some reason, Red felt like she was lying about the last part, but he bit the inside of his cheek, listening to what she said next with strained patience. "I think he just needs some space right now. He'll be back soon."

Red exhaled noisily, finally feeling a bit of reassurance. Sure, the situation was anything but good, but it was better than his love being kidnapped for ransom.

"But, uh, could you please still call me when he comes back? Just so I know he's really okay?", Daisy added.

She was still worried. Of course she was. She knew how impulsive her little brother was, and whatever bad idea he had told her about this morning, he was probably currently drowning, falling off a cliff or being trampled by angry Donphan as a result of it.  
Red wished he could hate him for this, but he was guilty of it too. 

"Of course I will."

"Thank you! Later."

"Yeah. Later."

They hung up.

_I think he just needs some space right now._

It must have been a bad argument. Usually Green seeked out Red whenever he had a fight with his grandpa. He would lay his head on his shoulder while he complained and complained, and Red would gently caress his arm while listening to him, breathing in the fresh, flowery scent of his shampoo. Oh, how he wished he could hold his love right now. 

Green didn't usually need space from anything. He was a people person. He needed attention when he was happy, when he was sad, when he was excited, even when he wanted to be alone. 

Red shook his head. If he didn't find a distraction soon, he'd lose it. His gaze went to the book he was reading right now, about a man whose wife had disappeared without a trace. He was at the end already and the wife had just turned up dead and...no. No no no. He hid the book under the couch cushions. Then his gaze fell on the kitchen and the dirty dishes. Green would want them to be clean when he came back.

Besides, Red's stomach was rumbling- a painful reminder that he was supposed to be in a nice restaurant with his missing love right now-, so having clean dishes to cook was probably not a bad idea.

He let the hot water run over his calloused hands as it filled the sink. Usually when he washed the dishes, Evee came running, mewled pitifully and pressed herself against his legs. To her, humans in kitchens always meant it was feeding time.

The bad feeling in his gut came back stronger. It had been there all morning, but now he realized how many things in his every day life were now tied to Green, how much would be gone if he had truly left. He'd taken all his Pokémon with him, so he was likely out for a longer trip. The sudden ringing of his phone- his official Champion Battle Theme that played at the Indigo League whenever a challenger fought with him- caught him off guard and he dropped the pan he'd just gotten done cleaning. The loud clattering sound it caused almost made him lose the remaining bit of sanity. Loudly cursing, he dried his frothy hands on his Pyjama pants that he realized he still hadn't changed, and almost dropped his phone when he saw it was a call from Green.

He could feel his legs buckle a bit with relief, and exhaled a long, shaky breath as felt like an entire mountain was lifted off of his chest.

With shaking fingers he finally managed to accept the call after the third try. _"Green?!",_ he practically yelled into the phone.

"Red? What's up? You tried to call me a bunch of times."

He sounded weirdly detached. Curt. A cold fist curled around Red's heart.

"What's up? What is up, you ask?!", Red revolted. "Where _are_ you? I'm worried sick! We were supposed to eat out today! You didn't even leave a _note!"_

For a few moments, he could only hear Green's quiet breathing. It sounded like he was trying to say something, then thinking better of it. Red wanted to shake him. 

"I'll explain later," he then said. "Sorry. I just needed some space for the moment, I guess."

"That's fine! But why didn't you tell me? Don't you think I would have given you space?"

"Of course you would. But..." Green sighed again. "Forget it. I'll be back soon."

Green's voice was loud. Red could hear the wind in the background. He suddenly had a faint idea of where his love might be.

"But Green, I-"

"Love you, bud. Smell ya!"

_Click._

It's okay, Red told himself. Everything is all right. And the sickening feeling he suddenly had in his stomach absolutely didn't mean anything.

 _He's tired of you,_ a small voice inside his head said. _He's tired of you and needed some space so he can think of a way to tell you._

Then Red's mind went back to the book he'd been reading. The wife had called her husband a few days after she disappeared. She'd been hiding a secret, and then he had to find out she had died because of it.

His mouth suddenly felt so dry like he had consumed a beach's worth of sand. He knew what it was like when your love disappeared out of spite all of a sudden, or to have them ripped away from you by force against their will. For three weeks he'd feared for the worst when Team Rocket had Green in their dirty claws because oh, what a good hostage Green was. Grandson of Professor Oak and boyfriend of Champion Red. What a good amount of money you could get out of him, what a good way it was to take revenge on whoever held a grudge against, what a good political strategy Green's life was.

And he knew Green felt the same way about him. Many sleepless nights were spent because of nightmares in which Red had disappeared on MT. Silver, tired of the domestic life. Of course Red still went to the mountain every now and then when he needed to be alone. But something he wanted his love to understand was that he would never in a million years be tired of him. And he always, always told him where he went before he left. 

He truly thought they were finally over all of this. How could Green do this to him, again?

Something had to be going on inside of him, and Red knew if he didn't find out what it was soon, he'd absolutely lose his mind.

Of course Green would be a little upset if he just ignored his plea for space, but this was the very first time and last time this would happen, and it _needed_ to happen. The circumstances made it right.

He went to his bedroom, changed for his typical blue jeans, a baseball shirt with black sleeves and his cap, then he put on a thick winter jacket although it was 30 degrees celcius outside.

When he was done, he took a Pokéball from his nighttable. The cool, heavy metal in his hand calmed him a bit. He went to the window and pressed the button in the middle of the ball. Red light emerged and slowly materialized into the form of a dragon outside of the window. Slowly, the rough brownish scales became more and more visible, and yellow, slitted eyes looked at him in the least threatening way you'd ever see from a creature so massive. Charizard cooed as a greeting as it hovered in front of the window. Red didn't lose any time and climbed out of the window onto its back. What a weird deja vu it was, considering the first time he visited Green here was by hovering in front of his window while his then-rival had fallen asleep at the desk.

Only this time, Green wasn't here.

He got second thoughts again when he realized just how much he was disrespecting Green's explicit wishes right now. But he just wanted to make sure that he was okay, that _they_ were okay. If his love told him to get lost, that would be fine. He just needed to see him. 

"Charizard, fly me to MT. Silver, please."

* * *

Finding Green was quite unspectacular and not as dramatic or heroic as Red would have imagined. He sat crisscross applesauce on a small mountain of snow at the edge of a cliff, staring into his lap, his arms crossed in front of his chest. As expected, he was right near the cave Red used to live in those cursed three years he didn't really like to think about anymore. And, goddamnit, he wasn't even wearing splash pants or anything else that would have protected his rear end from the cold he was sitting in right now. At least he had thought to bring a jacket. Red was about to approach him, pull him to his feet and lecture him about bladder inflammation, but then he saw how tense his shoulders seemed all of a sudden and how his head was turned ever so slightly, and he realized that Green had already noticed him. 

He just chose to ignore him.

Carefully, he walked a few steps closer.

"Green?"

"What."

What in the world was this about? Red felt exasperation build up. If all of this happened when they were kids, he would have thrown snow balls at Green until he apologized.

"Wha....what are you _doing_ here?" The wind wasn't strong, but Red still had to yell against it. 

"I told you to give me _space_ ," Green revolted. He didn't sound angry, just...defiant.

And Red couldn't help but let out a disbelieving gasp. "Green, are you...are you _sulking?"_

_"No."_

Red walked closer until he was next to Green. He sat down in the snow, immediately feeling the cold wet snow bite its way through the fabric into his skin. 

"Green," he said. "I was worried about you _all day._ We had a _date._ You can't just disappear on me like that after everything we've been through. We're not teenagers anymore!"

Green finally looked at him. "I didn't _disappear_ on you, I just needed a few hours to myself."

"You could have left me a note."

"I didn't _want_ to!"

"What's going _on_ with you? You're not being yourself!"

Green sighed. He drew circles in the snow with his bare finger. Then he quietly said: "I had a fight with gramps."

Red's face softened, a slight pang in his heart, and he put an arm around Green's shoulders. He was shaking slightly underneath the thick fabric. "I know. Daisy told me. She's worried too, you know."

"Huh. She'll kill me later then."

"What was the fight about?"

Green looked at his fidgeting hands. Then, like it was the most normal, casual thing in the world, he said: "I told him I wanted to propose to you."

Red just stared at him, mouth agape his hand involuntarily digging into his love's arm as hope and relief started to bloom in his chest like a flower. "Oh. Bummer, I guess...?"

"It's not funny!", Green revolted, and Red deflated slightly, reassuringly starting to stroke his arm instead.

"So...he didn't approve of it then, huh?"

Professor Oak wasn't by any means protective of his grandson, didn't think in any way that Green was too good for Red. It was the other way around. He'd never outright said it to their faces, but Red noticed all the little quips Oak made at the dinner table, the subdued defeated look on Green's face whenever he did, and, something he had never told his love, remembered how Professor Oak had once said to him: "You know you don't have to pretend you like my grandson."

Oak had always favored Red over Green, and he could only imagine how Green telling him about a possible proposal could have went.

However Green said: "That's not it."

"It's not?"

He shook his head.

"Then what's the problem?"

"The problem is..." Green sighed. "I've been spending _so much of my freaking time_ to get you a _good_ _freaking ring_ and he just took _one_ look at it and just...just started freaking _laughing."_

For a moment, Red could only stare, trying to gather his thoughts. He'd never felt such a wide range of emotions before, going from bewilderment to anger to amusement to endearment. "So you're telling me," he said, trying to keep his voice calm. He didn't know if he'd yell or laugh if he didn't. "that I've been scared shitless all day about your well-being because you were offended at your grandpa for making fun of the _ring_ you bought? An inanimate object that you know I wouldn't even care about that much as long as we're together?"

"It means a lot to me, okay?" Green snapped, then he reached into his grey bag and pulled a dark blue little box out. Red was speechless. He couldn't believe that this was real, that only ten minutes before all of this he had thought Green wanted to leave him.  
Green opened the box, and Red gasped at what he saw. It was a simple golden ring, very bland actually, and attached to it was...

"Green." Red had to keep his voice from shaking because otherwise he'd lose it in a fit of laughter, and he really didn't want to do this to his love. "Did you...did you glue a plastic Eveeface to this ring?"

"It was with a hot glue gun!", Green said defensively, and bless his heart, he actually thought it was a valid defense.  
  
Red exhaled a shaky breath and said with an even shakier voice: "Okay," as he tried to stop his grin from happening.

"Mine's a Pikachu."

Red fell to the ground then, letting out a month's worth of laughter until he, the big Champion of Kanto, was reduced to a snorting, teary eyed mess in the snow. Whenever he was about to calm down, he took just took one look at Green's absolutely _scandalized_ expression and it all started again.

"Look, it may not _look_ like much, but the ring itself cost a lot of money!", Green yelled against Red's roaring laughter.

"What did your sister say about this?", Red managed to gasp out.

"She didn't see it yet...but _she_ was the one who told me to look for something that symbolizes us in some way!"

"So you chose a plastic Pikachu and plastic Evee," Red concluded, still grinning, while wiping the tears out of his eyes.

"I thought you'd like it," Green mumbled and looked back at his hands. "I've really thought a lot about this, you know. You're a minimalist, you don't really like objects unless they come from the heart, unless they have some sort of meaning. So I thought this may be a good idea. It's expensive because to me you are priceless, and at the same time it's minimalist and from the heart. It's self made, in a way, and it symbolizes a piece of me, while I have a piece of you. I thought...I thought it summed us up pretty well. Guess I was wrong."

"Green." Red still couldn't get rid of his damn grin, not when his love was being so undeniably silly, not when he himself was so incredibly relieved and happy. The flower in his chest was a whole garden now. "I love it. And the idea behind it. I really do. I just didn't expect it. I'm so sorry."

"You're only saying that."

"I'm not. It's wonderful, and it makes me love you ten times more, if that's possible at all."

"Then why'd you laugh at me?"

"It's a plastic Evee that you glued on a golden ring, bud. I'm not a robot." He tried to kiss Green on the cheek, but as expected, Green moved so Red missed. He rolled his eyes. "Okay, how can I make up for what I did just now?"

"You can't," Green said matter of factly. "You ruined it."

"Would that make it better?"

"What?"

"This."

"Wha-RED!"

Red had taken a hand full of snow and rubbed it into Green's face.

"You freaking...you _asshole!"_ , Green spluttered and rubbed the snow off. Red had never seen such an indignant, yet mischivious expression. Red knew what was coming, and quickly he threw himself sideways as Green tried to get him with two hands of snow. Always trying to outdo him, of course. 

"Just you wait!", Green yelled.

Soon they were chasing each other, two grown men laughing and frolicking like children, and what a wonderful sound it was in Red's ears. It was like all the tension had seeped out of every single muscle fiber like liquid. Eventually Green ended up throwing himself at Red, wrestling him to the ground and smearing a giant pile of snow into his face. He even stuffed some of it down his collar. 

The snow couldn't rival the warmth in Red's chest though, so he hardly felt it. He laughed and threw his arms around Green, still not quite believing that he was really here, healthy and happy. He leaned down and gave Red a kiss on the lips, the wake up kiss he wished he could have gotten this morning.

He smiled up at his love. "I was so scared today," he said quietly, his voice all husk while he rubbed Green's back. "Don't ever do this to me again, please!"

Green suddenly stopped smiling and climbed off of Red. Confused, Red sat up, only to see Green back at his defiant position from before. He looked like he was pondering something very important, then he said: "Don't you get it, Red?"

"Huh?"

"I love you, bud, I really do. Obviously that's why I want to marry you. But there's another reason."

Red raised his eyebrows and tilted his head, looking at his love expectantly. When Green finally continued, he looked up at him with big eyes. "I wanted to marry you...so we don't have to do this anymore."

"Do what?"

 _"This._ Leaving notes, always saying goodbye before taking the smallest trips, freaking out when someone isn't there for the moment... is that not just another way to say there's no trust in this relationship? Has it not been the reason you were losing your mind today?"

Red looked at his feet, suddenly feeling guilty again. Green was right, was always right. He'd been behaving like an absolute buffoon today, and for what? Green was fine, and Green loved him, and he was right here in front of him. He reached for Red's hands. Green's were cold, but so soft and small in comparison. He squeezed Green's hands, looking back up into his honey eyes and attempting a slight, sad smile.

"Maybe that's why I didn't tell you where I went today. Because I don't want this anymore." He paused, and although he was being so raw and honest right now, Red could smell from a mile away that it was for dramatic effect. When he continued, he said:

"We've made a promise to never leave. Maybe we should promise to always come back instead. A marriage is a promise that is worth so much more than a note or a text or a little goodbye. And I trust you not to break it, Red. I trust you not to run away anymore. Do you trust me too? For a lifetime?"

Red tried to digest it all for a moment. Snowflakes kept gently falling, and some landed in Green's reddish hair, staying there for a moment before melting. His cheeks and nose were tinted deep red from the wind and the snow, some water was still glistening on his delicate jaw, and each hasty breath came out with vapor. He looked so beautiful in this moment, Red would have married him on the spot, cold wet clothes and everything.

"Green...", he said, and his love smiled in a way that made his heart feel like it was being hugged. "I know no person more reliable and capable than you, and I feel so silly for how I've been treating you."

Green squeezed his hand. "I've been no better."

Red looked deep into his love's eyes, and for a moment, he was scared he'd lose himself in them.

"So from now on," Green said, "we'll vow to trust each other and not give each other reasons to worry on purpose." He took the ring out and held it up to Red. "Promise?"

Red reached his hand out, smiling and feeling tears fill his eyes when Green put it on his finger. His hands were shaking so much, he almost let the ring fall. "Promise."

Green clasped Red's hand with his own two and looked up at him, his eyes glistening. He tried to blink the tears away, failed, and Red laughed, still in disbelief what a lucky day this had turned out to be, all the hurt and worry completely forgotten. He kissed his love on the lips. They were chapped and cold, but Red could have kissed them all day long, right here on this snowy mountain.

"Should we head home?"

His heart seized at the pure genuine happines his now fiancé regarded him with. "No. Let's go to your old cave and make a fire." He winked. "Our clothes need to dry."

Red smiled and pressed his love close to him. Together they stood up, their pants now soaking wet and cold and gross, but a bunch of wet pants were worth the promises they made to each other, never to be broken.

"Hey, you know what?", Red said on their way to the cave, both shaking from the cold now.

"What?", Green hummed, clinging tightly to Red's waist with one arm as they walked.

Red grinned. "There's been an ongoing pattern of you doing things first, and me doing them better. Remember our journey?"

"What are you getting at?"

"Well, I was planning a proposal too."

"You were?!"

"Yeah. And that plan was _so_ much better than yours'."

"Fuck you, Red."


End file.
